1Then Moses said, "What if they will not believe me or
listen to what I say? For they may say, `The LORD has not appeared
to you.'" 2The LORD said to him, "What is that in your
hand?" And he said, "A staff." 3Then He said, "Throw it
on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a
serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4But the LORD said to
Moses, "Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail"--so
he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in
his hand-- 5"that they may believe that the LORD, the God
of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob, has appeared to you."

6The LORD furthermore said to him, "Now put your hand
into your bosom." So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he
took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7Then
He said, "Put your hand into your bosom again." So he put his hand
into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold,
it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8"If
they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign,
they may believe the witness of the last sign. 9"But if
they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say,
then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry
ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood
on the dry ground."

10Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have
never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since
You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of
tongue." 11The LORD said to him, "Who has made man's
mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is
it not I, the LORD? 12"Now then go, and I, even I, will
be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say." 13But
he said, "Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You
will."

Aaron to Be Moses' Mouthpiece

14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and
He said, "Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he
speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you;
when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15"You
are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I,
will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you
are to do. 16"Moreover, he shall speak for you to the
people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to
him. 17"You shall take in your hand this staff, with
which you shall perform the signs."

18Then Moses departed and returned to Jethro his
father-in-law and said to him, "Please, let me go, that I may return
to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive."
And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." 19Now the LORD
said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were
seeking your life are dead." 20So Moses took his wife and
his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of
Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

21The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt
see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put
in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let
the people go. 22"Then you shall say to Pharaoh, `Thus
says the LORD, "Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23"So I
said to you, `Let My son go that he may serve Me'; but you have
refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your
firstborn."'"

24Now it came about at the lodging place on the way
that the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. 25Then
Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at
Moses' feet, and she said, "You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to
me." 26So He let him alone. At that time she said, "You
are a bridegroom of blood"--because of the circumcision.

27Now the LORD said to Aaron, "Go to meet Moses in the
wilderness." So he went and met him at the mountain of God and
kissed him. 28Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD
with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded
him to do.29Then Moses and Aaron went and
assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30and
Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. He
then performed the signs in the sight of the people. 31So
the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned
about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then
they bowed low and worshiped.

5 Israel's Labor
Increased

1And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to
Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, `Let My people go
that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.'" 2But
Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let
Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let
Israel go." 3Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has
met with us. Please, let us go a three days' journey into the
wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He
will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." 4But
the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you draw
the people away from their work? Get back to your labors!"
5Again Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are
now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!" 6So
the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and
their foremen, saying, 7"You are no longer to give the
people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather
straw for themselves. 8"But the quota of bricks which
they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not
to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out,
`Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' 9"Let the labor be
heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no
attention to false words."

10So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen
went out and spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh, `I am
not going to give you any straw. 11 `You go and
get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but none
of your labor will be reduced.'" 12So the people
scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13The taskmasters pressed them, saying, "Complete your
work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw."
14Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom
Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked,
"Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or
today in making brick as previously?"

15Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and
cried out to Pharaoh, saying, "Why do you deal this way with your
servants? 16"There is no straw given to your servants,
yet they keep saying to us, `Make bricks!' And behold, your servants
are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people."
17But he said, "You are lazy, very lazy; therefore
you say, `Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' 18"So
go now and work; for you will be given no straw, yet you must
deliver the quota of bricks." 19The foremen of the sons
of Israel saw that they were in trouble because they were told, "You
must not reduce your daily amount of bricks." 20When
they left Pharaoh's presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were
waiting for them. 21They said to them, "May the LORD look
upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in
Pharaoh's sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in
their hand to kill us."

22Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord,
why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me?
23"Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he
has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people
at all."

The Holy Bible, New American
Standard Version (c)1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by the Lockman
Foundation, La Habra, CA. All rights reserved. Words
identified as being spoken by Jesus are in red.www.BibleABC.net